Food for lowering urinary pH (long, sorry)

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Okay. Mom had me to the vet tonight. They checked my boy business...and indeed I'm paying too much attention to it. That's why it's a little sore looking. Good thing I was, though, because when mom took the sample in, they discovered I had crystals in my urine and my pH level was high.

The doctor didn't seem too worried about the crystals yet because he said the high pH level causes those crystals.

He, of course, wanted to put me on prescription food. Mom's not a big fan of Science Diet or Purina, so she's going to take another sample in to see if removing the fish food from my diet helped at all. For a while there, I was getting a 1/4 can of fish food every day then free fed Innova dry mixed with Frohmm...Salmon flavored of all things. Mom didn't know that fish food was bad.

Are there any other foods out there that might be good for me to eat? All the soft food I eat is pretty healthy...blue spa...natural balance...mom even tried drs. foster and smith food for me. And the dry I eat is Innova, which is healthy, too. I know the pet store has a UTI paste that has cranberries and stuff in it, but most of the food I eat has that in anyway. But is that UTI paste even safe? Does anyone else use it?

I've got two other sisters and one other brother and mom doesn't want to disrupt the balance of things too much.

Has anyone ever heard of fish food raising the pH level?

Of course, once she can finally get me to give her another sample, my pH might be down, but she's trying to be ready with an alternative...just in case...she's a worrywart, but at least I know it's 'cause she loves me.

Yes, a diet with fish has been known to cause urinary crystals. So hopefully eliminating that from your diet will help. I personally think that Hills c/d is one of the best foods for urinary issues, so that would be my suggestion. Maybe other kitties have had luck w/ other types. Please make sure to check w/ your vet before swiching foods though.

My pH is at 7, optimum is 6.3 or 6 I guess. Vet said it wasn't super high...mom's going to have it checked again, since I've been off the fish for a week to see if it helped to lower my pH. Mom doesn't like the ingredients in either the c/d or the purina ur that the vet recommended. Chicken by product meal. Corn gluten meal. It also has BHT and BTA in it.In the canned, it's only got beef by-products, corn meal, pork by-products, corn gluten meal. That's why she was looking for an alternative. Of course, if there's nothing else, mom may have to consider these if my pH is still up.

I've been on a few since this is a problem I have. I'd advise your Mom to switch your diet to whatever prescription food the vet recommends. In fact, she was kind of angry at my vet for NOT recommending special food for too long.

There are different foods for different urine issues, so I wouldn't recommend a specific food, but would rely on your vet for that.

Getting a fountain to encourage you to drink more water would also be a good idea. Mom said my water drinking tripled after getting a fountain. Long story short, I haven't had an issue in almost two years which is VERY good for me!

Good luck with your UT stuff, fella. Once you learn how to manage it, you'll do just fine!

I would recommend Eagle Pack cat foods....they have the lowest ash and magnesium levels around. Also, my neighbor has a cat that had chronic urinary issues that didn't want to feed a RX diet....she was recommended Eagle Pack by a local cat clinic and her cat hasn't any any problems reoccuring yet (she has been eating it for about 3 months now).

Thanks everyone. Mom does have a fountain for us. Plus lots of other bowls sitting around the house. She's hoping the switch to more canned food will give me the moisture I need. Once she's able to get another sample to the vet, she'll decide what to do. Hey. Maybe my pH levels will even be down. That would be sweet.

Hi! I have the same problem. In fact, I had surgery about 6 weeks ago for a bladder obstruction. 1. Stay away from the seafood. 2. Hills c/d diet was recommended by my vet. I like the hard but not the canned. 3. Distilled water helps alot. My ph dropped to 7.0 which the vet was happy with. I am feeling much better and am keeping my paws crossed that I stay that way. Good luck!

I have had urinary issues several times and my mom was really getting upset. She was so worried about me. The last time she took me to the vet the they "sorta" reccomended the Science Diet c/d wet food. They didn't really explain about hydration or even why that particular food was beneficial. They just made mom get a few cans from them and off we went with some pain killers. Mom was really upset after that because I wouldn't eat the wet food and she knew there had to be some way to help me. That was probably my 4th time in 2 1/2 years where it was necessary to take me in. She noticed mild symptoms inbetween and always watched me carefully, but thankfully I was okay most of the time. Anyway...
6 months later... Mom found some great articles here on catster and my br0ther and I have switched over to a mostly wet food diet. It was challenging at first, but we are both much healthier. No more stomach upset for my brother and I haven't had any more problems with my urinary system. Mom was very particular and did some research on the different types of foods available. We get these types of foods- Nature's Recipe, Old Mother Hubbard, Science Diet and Natural Balance. Mom reads each label because different flavors have different ingredients. She tries to get the most real meat and least grains as possible. The Natural Balance is our favorite and its the healthiest, but it also costs the most, so mom tries to spread the budget out. We also get 1/2 cup of dry Natural Balance during the day.
Mom is really glad she read those articles on the webpage that was suggested below. While we didn't look unhealthy we are much better now. Our coats are shiney and soft and we walk around purring a lot more. The best part- my brother and I don't feel bad- no throwing up for Aeris and no urinary issues for me. Good luck on finding the right foods for your diet- I'm sure eliminating the fish will help a lot.

This is the website recommended by Jabba and was tremendously helpful:
http://www.catinfo.org/#Learn_How_To_Read_a_Pet_Food_Ingr% 20edient_Label

These points hit home with my mom-- (from the above website)
" With regard to dry food and urinary tract health, aside from the lack of water in this type of diet, please also note that there is a correlation between the consumption of a high carbohydrate diet and the formation of struvite crystals as shown by this study."
and--
"Please keep in mind that a cat has a very low thirst drive and is designed to get water with their food. A diet of canned food will keep a proper amount of water flowing through the urinary tract system and help maintain its health."

Kaiser thanks for weighing in on this. I'll definitely look at the stuff you sent. Other than not feeding us enough soft food, mom's been pretty good about reading labels. Before she got my older sister, she lost her beloved Mr. Fuzzypants to stomach cancer. It was then she did a lot of reading on foods. My sisters started out on Chicken Soup. Then mom moved to Innova. She's now looking at California Natural only because there's no fish and no dairy in it. That's from the dry angle. We're being stubborn right now and trying to wait mom out so she gives us more dry food, but it doesn't seem like that's happening. We like the Natural Balance and Blue Spa. It's tough, though finding food without fish in it. Most of them have herring meal or salmon in them. Mom's going to try to get a sample tomorrow and have the vet check my pH level again. Hopefully, it will be below 7.0.